中国范儿 51 蹴鞠：曾经辉煌的“中国足球”
蹴鞠：曾经辉煌的“中国足球”
梅西、C罗、内马尔无疑是今夏最耀眼的明星，伴随着在俄罗斯举行的世界杯，足球运动再一次成为全球瞩目的焦点。然而聚光灯之外，中国男足再次缺席世界杯，中国球迷也成了今夏这场狂欢最无奈的看客，但是曾经的我们真的很会“踢球”。
清·顾洛《蹴鞠图》（局部）
2004年，国际足联确认足球起源于中国。“蹴鞠”就是有史料记载的最早的足球活动，“蹴”有用脚蹴、蹋、踢的含义，“鞠”就是当时的足球。
In 2004, FIFA confirmed that the modern football originated from China. Cuju was the earliest football game recorded by Chinese historical materials. Cu means kicking with feet and ju was the name of football in ancient China.
最早的“鞠”用皮子制成，内里填充毛发，相传由黄帝发明，最早是用于军事训练的。可能得益于蹴鞠强身健体的功效，黄帝的军队打败了蚩尤成为中国的霸主。
Ju was initially made up of leather stuffed with feathers. According to the folktale, ju was invented by the Yellow Emperor for military training purpose. Probably due to the military training value of Cuju, the Yellow Emperor's force finally defeated Chiyou and dominated China.
古代“蹴鞠”的赛制多种多样，有类似今天的双方对垒、互射球网的，还有一种非常特别的射“风流眼”的比赛。双方球员通过“风流眼”将球射向对方半场，射过“风流眼”次数多的一方获胜。
In ancient China, Cuju game had a couple of scoring and play styles. One of them was similar to modern football in that each team attempted to score points by kicking the ball through the goal of its opponent. Another play style, which is very special, called Through the Hole. Players of each team would try to kick the ball through a hole from their respective sides. The team with more successes would win.
除此之外，古代的蹴鞠还具有表演性质，球员在鼓乐的伴奏下，用脚、肩、头等部位进行控球表演，甚至有类似今天“倒挂金钩”的表演。
明·商喜《宣宗行乐图》（局部）
在古代，蹴鞠的流行程度不亚于今天的足球。最著名的球星应该算是“高俅”了。据《水浒传》记载，高俅因擅长蹴鞠得到宋徽宗赏识而飞黄腾达，可见宋徽宗也是个超级球迷。古画《宋太祖蹴鞠图》，描绘宋徽宗的祖上宋太祖赵匡胤等人踢球的场面。可见，宋徽宗对足球的喜爱也像今天的球员、球迷一样有着深远的家族传承。然而，宋徽宗应该还不能算是最狂热的球迷，在他之前的西汉人项处，因迷恋“蹴鞠”，虽患重病仍不遵医嘱继续外出蹴鞠，结果不治身亡。
Cuju’s popularity in ancient China could even match the popularity of the football today. The most famous Cuju star should be Gao Qiu. As described the ancient Chinese novel Outlaws of the Marsh, Gao Qiu, due to his mastery of Cuju, got the favor of the Huizong Emperor of the Song Dynasty, who must have been an enthusiastic fan of Cuju. The ancient Chinese painting The Taizu Emperor Playing Cuju depicted the scenario that the Taizu Emperor, one of the ancestors of the Huizong Emperor of the Song Dynasty, played Cuju with others. It is interesting to note that the Huizong Emperor, just like today’s football fans, became a Cuju enthusiast due to family influences. The Huizong Emperor was not the craziest fan of Cuju in ancient China, however. Xiang Chu, a person living in the West Han Dynasty, kept playing Cuju despite the advice of his doctor. The stubborn fan eventually died of his illness playing his beloved sport.
宋·苏汉臣《宋太祖蹴鞠图》
值得一提的是，在古代，蹴鞠不光是一项男人的运动，女子踢球也不少见，在流传下来的不少宋代铜镜中就有男女相对踢球的纹饰。
It is noteworthy that Cuju was not a game exclusively for men. In ancient China, it was not rare to see women playing Cuju. There are paintings of men and women playing Cuju together on some bronze mirrors of the Song Dynasty.
随着古典时代的远去，蹴鞠逐渐不再流行，然而蹴鞠运动带给中国人积极向上的影响仍然存在，也在民间流下了深厚的群众基础。时至今日，虽然中国男足的成绩始终不如人意，但中国球迷对足球运动的狂热有增无减。随着中国足球的不断发展，也因为人们对足球运动的喜爱，相信不久的将来，中国足球一定会带给球迷惊喜。
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